Portable target backstop



Feb. 9, 1932. c, J, KOEHLER 1,844,581

PORTABLE TARGET BACKS TOP Filed Feb. 27, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 9, 1932.. c. J. KOEHLER POJR'I'ABLEV TARGET BACKSTOP Filed Feb. 27, 1931 2. Sheets-Sheet 2 a r I I III/111111! gwuznliom amemr (If/I10: "411-11 IIIIIIIIIIIII Patented Feb. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHARLES J. KOE HLER, OF SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO KOEHLER 3308., OF SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION I PORTABLE ranenr nacxs'ror Application filed February 27, 1931.

This invention relates to target backstops or projectile receivers, and more particularl to a portable device which may be carrie from place to place and set up with case and dispatch in comparatively confined its simplicity of construction and sturdiness whereby the backstop may be used for either pistol or rifle target practice, and by suitably and easily interchanging or reinforcing the deflectors to provide different thickness of material, or by construction the entire apparatus of the required and proper materlal, variations in the caliber of firearms (wivhici can be used may be thereby accommoate Another object of the invention to rovide a target backstop in the form 0 an open-ended chamber over which is suitably suspended the target, the contour of the said chamber being'such as to deflect the projectiles to a removable receptacle disposed at the end of the said chamber and detachably secured thereto, the deflecting portion of said chamber being so arranged as to. prevent {)ebounding of the projectile out of the cham- It is also contemplated to construct the chamber with a downwardly inclined upper wall to deflect the course ofthe projectile downwardly at the end of the chamber to the projectile receptacle. It is to be understood that the angle of inclination of the-upper wall may be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention. I

.A still further object of the invention is to provide a suitable support for the backstop which may be adjusted to dispose the same at the proper height, said support being preferably capable of being collapsed to facilitate the carrying of the apparatus.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claims.

Serial No. 518,791.

In the drawings: Flg. 1 is a perspective view of the appafor the target carried thereb Fig. 2 is a fragmentary fbngitudinal sectional view taken through the chamber and pro ectile receptacle, the upper portion of the supporting means therefor bemg shown in elevation; i

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail sectional of a reinforcin liner to the upper deflecting wall thereof; Fig. 4 is a sectional. view taken on the line 44 of Fig.3

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a fra ,entary detail view of a modified form 0 projectile receptacle, the lower portion of the chamber and the rece tacle being shown in section; I jg. 7 is a further modified form ofxprojectile receiving chamber havin a curved back and being provided with be e member;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 except that' the back of the chamber is formed with a pluratus in position for constituting a backstop view of the chamber showing the application rality of angular-1y disposed flat deflecting surfaces Figs. 9 is a detail view of the upper portion of the supporting tripod connection which in this instance is slidably arran ed;

' Fig. 10 is a. section -on the line 10-.1 of

Fig. 7, showing the ri id form of upper tripod connection as use in my preferred embodiment;

Figs. 11 to 13 illustrate different forms of the projectile receptacles in which a closure plate is provided for permitting removal of the bullets from the rece tacle; and

Fig. 14 discloses a sti 1 further modification of the receptacle wherein the closure member is formed in the shape ofa cup and suitably secured to the receptacle.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several'figures of the drawings wherein 1 denotes an o en-ended chamber over the forward end '0 which is adapted to be positioned a target 2 in any suitable manner. The tar et is preferably suspended over the end 0 the chamber by suitable quick-releasable clip members or clamps 3 which may be fixed to the forward portion of the chamber if desired. At the opposite end of the chamber is positioned a projectile receptacle 4, shown in Fig. 1 as being suitably latched by means of the latches 5 to the end of the chamber and constituting a closure therefor, the latches being preferably releasable to'permit removal of the receptacle.

In Fig. v6, a modified construction of projectile receptacle is shown in the form of a slidable drawer 4 which may be withdrawn from the end of the chamber 1.

The construction of the chamber is preferably in the form of spaced vertical side walls 6 connecting the upper and lower walls 7 and 8 respectively, the latter beingconverging toward the rearward end of the chamber, and having its rearward end curved downwardly to extend substantially-vertical. The upper wall '7 is also preferably downwardly inclined from front to rear of the chamber so as to constitute a deflector for the projectile striking thereagainst, the course of the projectile beingadapted to be directed after deflection to the projectile receiver 4 at the end of the chamber.

For the purpose of permitting the use of firearms of larger caliber, the deflecting wall of the chamber may be provided with a suitable liner 9 which may be inserted into the chamber and maintained in close relation with the upper wall by suit-able lugs or flanges 10 pressed out of the side walls and disposed adjacent the rearward end of the chamber. The forward portion ,of the liner may be supported in any desired manner, and if the target supporting clip members are sufliciently strong, they may be also used to clamp the liner against the upstanding flange 11 at the-forward end of the upper wall 7, as well as clamp the target. I

It is also to be understood'that the backstop may be made of any thickness or weight of material which is sufficient to resist 1m-' pacts of projectiles fired from guns of'various calibers, or if it is not desired to construct the entire apparatus of the heavier material permanently secured together, various portions thereof may be removable and re laceable by similar parts of heavier materlal to withstand the increased force or impact of the larger calibers.

- The chamber 1 and associated parts hereinbefore described are preferablysupported by a suitable support or stand denoted generally by the reference character 12, the said support being shown in the form of a standard 13 secured to the chamber to permit adjustment of the angular position of the chamber in both a horizontal and vertical plane. This may be accomplished in any desired manner, as for example, by providing a cap or split collar 14 at the upper end of the standard having an adjusting screw 15 for contracting the collar or acting as a set screw for the cap to maintain the same in adjusted position. The upper ortion of the said collar may be bifurcate to receive a suitable lug or eye 16 fixed to the lower side of the chamber, a bolt 17 extending through the bifurcated portion of the collar and through the eye and cooperating with an adjusting wing nut 18 for clamplng the parts in adjusted angular position in a vertical plane. The engaging surfaces of the eye 16 and the bifurcated portion of the collar may be suitably roughened or notched to increase the friction contact and positively maintain the parts in adjusted position.

Pivotally connected to suitable ears or lugs 19 on the standard 13 are supporting legs 20, the supporting legs being pivotally connected intermediate their length with suitable bracing arms 21 which are in turn pivotally connected to a sleeve 22 slidably engaging the standard 13 and adapted to be secured in position thereon by suitable screws 23. By adjusting the sleeve 22 on the standard 13, the legs 20 may be extended or retracted at will, such an adjustment affording a means which varies the height of the target and associated backstop above the supporting floor or ground.

The horizontal and vertical an lar adjustment of the backstop is optiona but adjustment of height of the backstop to dispose the same, to ther with the tar et, at the proper elevatlon is very desirab e, although not absolutely essential. It is to be understood that the chambers may be made in any desired size so as to be adaptable for use with a target of any particular size.

It will also be observed that by sliding the sleeve 22 sufficiently far upwards on the standard, thele s may be completely collapsed or folde against the standard to facilitate the carrying of the apparatus from one place to another.

From the foregoing, the use of the apparatus should be obvious and may be briefly summarized as follows:

The supporting legs are adjusted and clamped in position by the nuts 23 to dispose the backstop at the proper elevation, where- Jun uponthe chamber may be swung in a orizontal plane and adjusted in position by the screw 15 to present the end of the chamber squarely towards the person who is to fire at the target, vertical angular adjustment of the chamber being also permitted by the adjusting screw and nut 18. A fresh target having been placed over the end of the chamber and secured in position by the clips 3, the person firing at the target may begin. Periodically, the projectile receptacle may be removed and emptied and new targets replaced over the end of the chamber.

In the form of the projectile chamber disclosed in Fig. 7, the back of the chamber is continuously curvedfrom the entrance portion to the receptacle 25. Located adjacent to the entrance to the chamber is the baflie member 26 which is angularly disposed inwardly to further prevent any tendency or ricocheting projectiles to rebound out of the chamber. The second baflie member 26' is disposed on the bottom portion of the chamber directly back of the first bafile and from this point the bottom inclines downwardly and terminates in an overhanging bafile or extension 27. The tripod connection, as seen in this figure of the drawings, differs from my preferred form and comprises an annular threaded flange 0r collar 28 which is suitably secured to the lower surface of the bottom and is designed to receive the threaded standard 29. This standard is provided with a threaded collar 30 which may be directly screwed onto the upper portion 31 of the tripod. From the above, it will be observed that by making the standards 29 of different lengths, the vertical disposition of the target may be obtained without any specialtype of tripod, as disclosed in Fig. 1. The tripod 31 and standard 29 may be readily unscrewed from the collar 28 to permit disassembling for purposes of packing and shipment.

In Fig. 8, the construction is somewhat similar to that of Fig. 7 with respect to the bafiles 26 and 26' and standard 29 except that the extension 32 of the bottom is curved downwardly toward the projectile receptacle '25, and the back of the chamber instead of being curved is bent to form a plurality of defleeting surfaces 24a and 24b.

The upper portion of the tripod 31a, as disclosed in Fig. 9, is provided with an adjustable sleeve 33 slidable thereon and arranged to be held in adjusted positions by the thumb nuts 34. This sleeve is connected at' 35 to the upper ends of the tripod legs 20. By utilizing this slidable connection for the upper ends of the legs in conjunction with the slidable connection 22 for the braces 21 of the legs, it should be observed that the vertical height or position of the projectile chamber may be adjusted by loosening the thumb nuts 34 and 23, moving the standard of tthe tripod 31a and again tightening the nu s.

In Fig. 11. the projectile receptacle 25 is provided with a closed bottom and an opening 36 arranged in the front wall thereof. This opening is closed by a plate 37 held in place in any suitable manner, such as by the wing nuts 38. In Fig. 12, the receptacle 25 is open at its bottom and provided with the closure plate 37a which is removable by loosening the securing wing nuts 38a. Fig. 13 is a view in which the construction is quite similar to Fig. 11, except that the opening 32a is disposed at the rear of the receptacle In Fig. 14 the projectile receptacle 25 is closed by the bottom 39 and is provided with openings 40 in opposite side walls. The closure member consists of a cup-shaped receptacle 41 similar to that shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings and is held in position by suitable catches 42. When the receptacle 4 1 is removed from the projectile receptacle 25, it will be observed that the projectiles will be supported by the plate 39 and may be readily pushed out from one side through the openings 40. Further than this, theplate 39 and the bottom of the receptacle 41 provide added strength to the bottom of the projectile receptacle which may be necessary when heavy caliber firearms are used. It may be desirable to place waste or other cushioning material in the bottom of the receptacle, as indicated at 43 in Fig. 11 to cushion the impacts of the bullets and thereby prolong the life of the target backstop.

When the device is used for trick or fancy shooting, breakable articles maybe supported in the front portion of the chamber or placed on the horizontal ortion of the bottom plate.

While the specific details of the construction have been herein shown and described, the invention is not confined thereto as changes or alterations may be made without departing from the spirit thereof as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, an open-ended chamber, the upper and lower walls thereof converging laterally out of the line of flight of a projectile entering the chamber, a rece tacle disposed at the small end of the cham er, and a plurality of members disposed on the inner walls of the chamber to prevent rebound of projectile out of the chamber.

2. In a target backstop, an open-ended chamber having upper and lower walls converging rearwardly and downwardly away from the opening, and means disposed interiorly of the chamber to prevent projectiles entering into the chamber from rebounding of the the same, said means comprising a series of plates disposed on the interior walls of the receptacle and inclined away from the entrance.

3. In a target backstop comprising an open-ended chamber adapted to receive a target, said chamber including top and bottom walls converging away from the entrance to the chamber and terminating in a substantially vertically disposed position, and a plurality of battles disposed on the interior surface of the chamber and inclined rearwardly to prevent rebound of ricocheting projectiles out of the chamber.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

CHARLES J. KOEHLER. 

